


To Touch The Sea

by carnivoreghost



Series: Commissions/Gifts [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Coming Out, Nonbinary Character, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:54:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28221255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carnivoreghost/pseuds/carnivoreghost
Summary: Feelings were like the sea to Robin. They ebbed and flowed easily, felt wholly as they came. It was easy to let themself feel whatever bubbled to the surface.Nonbinary Robin struggles with identity and freedom as Chrom becomes someone to lean on.
Relationships: Chrom & My Unit | Reflet | Robin
Series: Commissions/Gifts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1676803
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7
Collections: Fire Emblem Trans Winter Exchange 2020





	To Touch The Sea

**Author's Note:**

> This is a secret Santa gift for LCSkeleton on Twitter. The gift exchange was held by FE Trans Hub.

Feelings were like the sea to Robin. They ebbed and flowed easily, felt wholly as they came. It was easy to let themself feel whatever bubbled to the surface. It did not rule them but it was _there_.

Robin did not have a name for the feelings that hung like a cloud over them as they stared at their reflection. Displeasure? That was there as they studied their long ivory hair. It was still pulled back in their signature twintails, even though the rest of them were bare . 

Travel had never been difficult for Robin. Roughing it was fine. They were practical and if it was needed they could abstain from a shower for as long as they needed to. Thankfully they didn’t have to. 

The river was slow moving, the waters crystal clear at the base of a roaring waterfall. It was the perfect place to camp. Even in the middle of the river, voices drifted through the greenery. Though it was impossible to make out what was said. 

_Perhaps it was displeasure?_

Their hair had gotten quite long, settling in the middle of their back when free. Something about the way it looked held back in pigtails made Robin’s stomach flip. It had never caused this feeling before? Why-

“Robin!” Chrom came out of the bushes with all the grace of a rampaging boar. “Have you-” He paused at the riverbank. “What are you doing?”

They had not realized they had taken their knife with them, raising it thoughtfully along the edges of their hair. “I _was_ bathing,” Robin said through gritted teeth. 

“With a knife?”

“Go away.” Robin grabbed a pebble from the riverbed. It flew true, plunking Chrom right in the forehead.

He stumbled back, eyes wide. “Ow! Robin-,” he said, hand shielding his forehead and Robin raised their hand once again. “I’m sorry.”

Robin lowered their hand. “Turn around.” Chrom obliged. They exited the river, dripping water onto the soil in their wake. A blush creeped up onto their cheeks. Even with his back to them, having Chrom so close still felt like a level of intimacy that had not been breached.

“Robin?” Chrom was still standing away from them. 

“You can turn around.” Robin was dressed now, sporting their usual violet coat. “You have a habit of walking in on me bathing.”

Chrom’s cheeks were crimson. “Why were you bathing in the river anyway?”

“I didn’t want to wait,” they said.

“But-The knife?”  
Robin shot him a sidelong glance. “I don’t think my hair suits me anymore.”

“Your hair?” Chrom looked at them, blue eyes feeling like a magnifying glass. “I think- Is it the style or length?”

“I don’t know,” Robin admitted. Something was off. Maybe they needed a change? “Perhaps it is more than just my hair…”

Chrom stepped closer. “Turn around,” he echoed the command from earlier, smiling.

Robin did as they were told. The feeling of deft hands, calloused from swordplay wove through their hair. He released the two tails and then started to gather it up. 

“I used to wear my hair long,” Chrom said.

Robin snorted. “I cannot picture _that_.” There was something alluring about the image of Chrom with his hair long and tied back in a low ponytail, heaving his blade as if it was made of parchment. They were very glad that they were not facing him as their cheeks grew hot again.

Chrom took a step back. “There.”

In the glassy surface of the water Robin’s hair was pulled back. The long tresses fell over their spine in a simple braid. 

“I-” they began, “I suppose I should experiment a bit before chopping it all off.”

Chrom’s smile was warm and crooked. “You do wear it the same everyday.”

“Shut up,” they murmured, eyes still studying their reflection. “Did Lissa teach you this?”

“No,” Chrom shook his head. “I had long hair for a long time.” He paused, face scrunched up suddenly. “My-My name used to be different too.”

Robin finally met his eyes. There was something under the blue that that could not place for a moment. But then realization settled like a stone in their gut. “You-?”

“Lissa had been pretty cross,” he said, averting his eyes. “To gain an older brother instead of another sister.”

“Oh!” Robin felt like a fool. “I-” There had been hints for weeks. Little comments, hushed and meant only for their ears. They had just never picked up on them until now. “I think I know how you feel.”

“You do?” Chrom wheeled around, eyes widened and mouth agape. 

“I-” The phrase had stuck in their mind since he had uttered it. _”When I look at you, I just don't see a "lady."_ The longer time passed the more Robin thought of it, warmth settling inside their chest everytime. “I think you were right about me.”

“Wha-What?”

“I don’t think I’m a ‘lady’ or a woman at all.” Robin fiddled with a loose thread hanging from their sleeve. 

“Are you-” Chrom started.

Robin interrupted him. “Not a man either. Something else,maybe. I’m not sure.” They could not meet his eyes. What they spoke of was strange on their tongue. It had been something they had thought of, when the rest of the Shepherds were asleep and their only company was their thoughts. Putting it into words was like reaching out to that sea of emotion and grasping it tightly. 

Chrom frowned, bringing a hand up to rest on his chin. “What should i call you?”

“Robin is fine,” they said, “and-uh- use ‘they’ to refer to me.”

“Done!” Chrom threw up a thumbs up. His face was pink, framing his lopsided smile. Where the pebble had it him was looking a bit purple. It would bruise. 

Robin laughed. Articulating their feelings did not hurt. It felt like freedom. It felt like touching the sea.


End file.
